Ben Smith

The lingering memory was not of late goals, but Roberto Mancini’s ashen face, the sound of silence that greeted the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium and a juvenile spat between team-mates that reflected the frustration of a day when the Barclays Premier League title felt like it began to slip

Roberto Mancini conceded last night that Manchester City’s hopes of ending their 44-year wait for the title will be over if Manchester United win their next two matches. City will be five points behind United if Sir Alex Ferguson’s team beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park tonight. Should United

Mario Balotelli has not yet been called the Peter Pan of football, but the time has come for him to grow up. He is brash, brilliant and at times bonkers and, taken in isolation, his behaviour on Saturday was immature and self-indulgent, rather than destructive. For 80 minutes he lived to his

Roberto Mancini refused to concede that Manchester City have been knocked out of the Premier League title race after their 3-3 home draw with Sunderland, instead boldly claiming that Manchester United will drop points against Blackburn Rovers on Monday night. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side potentially

Gareth Barry believes Manchester City must win all eight of their remaining matches if they are to take the Barclays Premier League title away from their rivals Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will go back to the top of the table if they avoid defeat by Fulham at Old Trafford tonight

Kenny Dalglish did not attempt to hide his disgust last night as he tried to come to terms with Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat by Queens Park Rangers, a result that ended any hopes of a top-four finish. The Liverpool manager admitted that he was at a loss to explain why his side had thrown away a two-goal

At the final whistle, they could give no more. Everton and Sunderland had slugged it out for 90 breathless minutes, fighting each other to a standstill and matching each other step for step, yard for yard and ultimately goal for goal. There will be more dramatic ties in this season’s FA Cup but

Within minutes of seeing Fabrice Muamba fall to the White Hart Lane turf, they began to gather. Supporters huddled outside the Reebok Stadium with one cause, one man, on their mind. Football, normally the only reason to take these relative strangers there, was forgotten as Bolton Wanderers fans

Mark Hughes and several of his Queens Park Rangers players were involved in an ugly altercation with an angry supporter as the team arrived at Euston Station after Saturday’s defeat by Bolton Wanderers. The QPR manager was approached by a group of fans soon after stepping off the train, before one

It was a day that will live long in the memory, not for the blood and thunder, but the thud and blunders. Frank Lampard’s “goal” against Germany in the 2010 World Cup notwithstanding, there will rarely be a better advertisement for the introduction of goalline technology than the events at the